Talk:Jeffrey Katzenberg

Political activities request 4

Hi editors, my next request for the political activities section is a bit trickier, but I hope it makes sense.

This request is to replace the third paragraph of the section with new text that I think better captures the information available in reliable sources and presents everything in a more neutral manner. As before, I've used TextDiff to highlight the differences, followed by a rendering.

The differences are a bit more substantial, but hopefully editors find it to be more balanced and neutral. My proposed changes:

• Clean up WP:EDITORIAL language (e.g. "When the details of Oriental DreamWorks emerged")
• Remove the sentence about Andy Spahn, which has been made redundant after past edit requests
• Retains Rubin's comments while rephrasing them in a way that I think better meets NPOV
• Removes the Nicholas Confessore sentence as it is unsourced and I have been unable to locate the original interview. I also think the presentation of the Confessore sentence lacks encyclopedic tone and doesn't really add anything to paragraph
• Changes the first sentence to be about an SEC investigation related to Oriental DreamWorks, which I believe is more salient to the topic
• Removes the sentence attributed to the Sunlight Foundation
  • The blog post does not ascribe any impropriety to Katzenberg, and does not directly support connections between the founding of Oriental DreamWorks, the Obama administration, and Katzenberg's donations
  • The presentation of the information in Katzenberg's Wikipedia article is clearly placed and worded in such a way to imply impropriety
  • The wording in the Wikipedia article also lacks encyclopedic tone and contains WP:OR – writing that Allison "suggested" something, rather than what Allison actually wrote, seems to me a clear violation of that policy
  • The only mention of fast-tracking is in the headline, which is not an RS per WP:HEADLINES

Let me know what you think! I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Additionally, if editors are curious, I have created a draft that shows where I ultimately hope the article ends up. The remaining changes are much less complex than this. Cheers BINK Robin (talk) 16:55, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Extended content

− When the details of [[Pearl Studio|Oriental DreamWorks]] emerged, [[Jennifer Rubin (columnist)|Jennifer Rubin]] noted that the Obama Administration's potential involvement in the deal would not be an issue if not for Katzenberg's May fund-raiser for Obama and his "huge campaign donations." It was reported that Katzenberg was Obama's top "bundler", who, along with Spahn, had collected at least $6.6 million in combined donations for both of Obama's campaigns. In an MSNBC interview about the donations, [[Nicholas Confessore]] noted Katzenberg's desire to build movie studios in China, saying that he would need help from the Obama administration to get this done and that "[e]veryone has interests at stake." Bill Allison of the [[Sunlight Foundation]] suggested that Katzenberg's long history of financial support for Obama may have influenced the movie deal being "fast-track[ed]" by the White House, noting that DreamWorks Animation "never registered to lobby the federal government." + In 2012, the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] reportedly opened an investigation into DreamWorks and other movie studios for bribing a foreign official. It was opened after the announcements of a deal between China and the United States to increase the number of American movies released in China and the launch of [[Oriental DreamWorks]], a Chinese offshoot of DreamWorks Animation. News of the investigation broke shortly after [[Joe Biden]] had brokered the Chinese movie deal, which Katzenberg had assisted with, and Katzenberg had held a fundraiser for the Obama campaign, leading ''[[Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Jennifer Rubin (columnist)|Jennifer Rubin]] to question if the deal and fundraiser were related. Katzenberg denied the existence of the investigation, saying that DreamWorks had never been asked for documents or to otherwise cooperate with an investigation. In 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly opened an investigation into DreamWorks and other movie studios for bribing a foreign official. It was opened after the announcements of a deal between China and the United States to increase the number of American movies released in China and the launch of Oriental DreamWorks, a Chinese offshoot of DreamWorks Animation. News of the investigation broke shortly after Joe Biden had brokered the Chinese movie deal, which Katzenberg had assisted with, and Katzenberg had held a fundraiser for the Obama campaign, leading Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin to question if the deal and fundraiser were related. Katzenberg denied the existence of the investigation, saying that DreamWorks had never been asked for documents or to otherwise cooperate with an investigation. References

@BINK Robin: "Foreign official" should probably be plural per NYT, and the third sentence seems a bit run-on, please fix as necessary. (maybe split into two sentences?) Thanks, ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 23:55, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

@ARandomName123: simple enough! Let me know what you think of this. BINK Robin (talk) 15:38, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Extended content

In 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly opened an investigation into DreamWorks and other movie studios for bribing foreign officials. It was opened after the announcements of a deal between China and the United States to increase the number of American movies released in China and the launch of Oriental DreamWorks, a Chinese offshoot of DreamWorks Animation. News of the investigation broke shortly after Katzenberg assisted Joe Biden with brokering the Chinese movie deal and Katzenberg had held a fundraiser for the Obama campaign. The timing of the events led Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin to question if the deal and fundraiser were related. Katzenberg denied the existence of the investigation, saying that DreamWorks had never been asked for documents or to otherwise cooperate with an investigation. References

 Done ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 21:02, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

@ARandomName123: Thanks so much for the help! BINK Robin (talk) 15:52, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

Final wrap-up requests

Hi editors, I thought I'd put in a series of requests to wrap things up here, with the hope that the community might engage with the individual requests at their leisure.

Infobox

• Change alma mater field to Ethical Culture Fieldston School as it was before
• Add Good Morning, Vietnam to list of notable works
• Change title to
  • Co-founder of WndrCo
  • Former chairman of The Walt Disney Studios
  • Co-founder of Hollywood Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation
  • Former CEO of DreamWorks

I think in each case, these changes make the infobox more accurate and complete

@BINK Robin: What role did Katzenberg have in producing this film? iirc, the notable works parameter is for works by the subject, not for works done under a company he lead or something. ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 16:15, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

@ARandomName123: Fair question, this article from the Guardian says he produced Good Morning Vietnam. I’ll defer to you if you think this is worth including in the Infobox. Cheers, BINK Robin (talk) 17:11, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Introduction

• Replace current introduction with the following:

Extended content

Jeffrey Katzenberg (/ˈkætsənbɜːrɡ/; born December 21, 1950) is an American entertainment executive and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation, where he oversaw the production of such animated franchises as Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. He has since founded a new media and technology company called WndrCo and was a co-founder of Quibi, a defunct short-form mobile video platform. Katzenberg has also been involved in politics. With his active support of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, he was called "one of Hollywood's premier political kingmakers and one of the Democratic Party's top national fund-raisers." He is a campaign co-chair of President Joe Biden's re-election campaign. References

I think this helps keep the introduction focused and concise while still conveying the relevant information.

DreamWorks Animation

• Remove the sentence "It was reported that Katzenberg receives an airfare allowance of $1.5 million per year, which was the most of all media-company CEOs."

This strikes me more as trivia than WP:ENCYCLOPEDIC content

Political activities

• Add the following the collapsed box regarding Katzenberg's support for Karen Bass

Extended content
Katzenberg donated approximately $1.8 million to a PAC supporting Karen Bass's Los Angeles mayoral bid in 2022. References

SOPA/PIPA

• Remove this section

The source does not support that Katzenberg took a "leading role" in SOPA/PIPA. PIPA is never mentioned, and Katzenberg's involvement only went so far as to decline to try to convince the president to support SOPA. I am not sure that this instance of choosing not to do something warrants inclusion in his article, and this section's opening is simply inaccurate.

Special awards

• Rename section "Recognition" for WP:NPOV
• Change text of section to what is in collapsed box below

Extended content

Katzenberg was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Ringling College of Art and Design in 2008, the first in the school's history. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Katzenberg with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2012, in acknowledgment of his role in "raising money for education, art and health-related causes, particularly those benefiting the motion picture industry." The following year, Katzenberg was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama. At the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Katzenberg was awarded an honorary Palme d'Or, the festival's highest prize. Cannes director Thierry Frémaux credited Katzenberg and Shrek with expanding the range of films considered at the competition. Katzenberg compared the distinction to the earlier Academy recognition. References

This rescues several sources, places awards listed in the Personal life section in this section to better capture everything together in sequence, and I think overall offers a more complete and accurate look at the recognition he has received.

Personal life

• Remove the final two paragraphs
  • The Ringling honorary degree would be made redundant with the changes requested of the "Special awards/Recognition" section. The paragraph regarding political donations is already well covered earlier, and the source for his political donations does not meet standards for biographies of living people
• Change the third paragraph to the following in the collapsed box:

Extended content

Katzenberg sits on the board of directors of multiple organizations, including the Motion Picture & Television Fund, Geffen Playhouse, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, AIDS Project Los Angeles, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, California Institute of the Arts, Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. In 2008, Katzenberg founded the DreamWorks Animation Academy in partnership with Inner-City Arts, a Los Angeles-based art education nonprofit organization, to provide inner-city students with instruction in digital media production. In 2016, Katzenberg had an estimated net worth of more than $1 billion. References

This will cut repeated mention of the Jean Hersholt award, as well as offer a more complete look at Katzenberg's board memberships while providing sources to previously unsourced sentences. It also re-adds and updates Katzenberg's net worth.

Filmography

• Replace section with the following in the collapsed box, which is much more complete and accurate

Extended content

Filmography Films Year Title Credits Production company Notes 1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture Production executive Paramount Pictures Meatballs 1980 Airplane! 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark Reds 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan An Officer and a Gentleman 48 Hrs. President of production 1983 Flashdance Trading Places Terms of Endearment 1984 Footloose Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Beverly Hills Cop 1985 Witness The Black Cauldron Disney chairman/editor Walt Disney Animation Studios The latter uncredited 1986 The Great Mouse Detective Disney chairman Flight of the Navigator Walt Disney Pictures The Color of Money Touchstone Pictures Ruthless People Tough Guys 1987 Down and Out in Beverly Hills Adventures in Babysitting Good Morning, Vietnam Outrageous Fortune Stakeout Three Men and a Baby Tin Men 1988 Beaches Cocktail D.O.A. Who Framed Roger Rabbit Oliver & Company Walt Disney Animation Studios 1989 The Little Mermaid Dead Poets Society Touchstone Pictures Turner & Hooch Disney chairman/producer Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Disney chairman Walt Disney Pictures 1990 Pretty Woman Touchstone Pictures Dick Tracy Green Card Arachnophobia Hollywood Pictures Taking Care of Business The Rescuers Down Under Walt Disney Animation Studios 1991 Beauty and the Beast Billy Bathgate Touchstone Pictures Father of the Bride The Rocketeer Scenes from a Mall What About Bob? 1992 Consenting Adults Hollywood Pictures Encino Man The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Medicine Man Aladdin Walt Disney Animation Studios The Mighty Ducks Walt Disney Pictures The Muppet Christmas Carol Newsies Sister Act Touchstone Pictures 1993 Alive The Nightmare Before Christmas What's Love Got to Do with It The Joy Luck Club Hollywood Pictures Tombstone Cool Runnings Walt Disney Pictures Hocus Pocus The Three Musketeers 1994 Angels in the Outfield The Lion King Walt Disney Animation Studios Ed Wood Touchstone Pictures I Love Trouble Renaissance Man When a Man Loves a Woman Quiz Show Hollywood Pictures The Santa Clause Walt Disney Pictures/Hollywood Pictures 1995 Your Studio and You Universal Pictures Short Pocahontas Walt Disney Animation Studios Partially Toy Story Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios 1998 Antz Executive in charge of production DreamWorks Animation The Prince of Egypt Executive producer 2000 The Road to El Dorado Executive producer/Director The latter uncredited Chicken Run Executive producer Joseph: King of Dreams Video 2001 Shrek Producer 2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron 2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas 2004 Shrek 2 Executive producer Shark Tale 2005 Madagascar Executive in charge of production/voice actor (as Rico and Abner) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Executive in charge of production 2006 Over the Hedge Flushed Away 2007 Shrek the Third Bee Movie Executive in charge of production/Special thanks 2008 Kung Fu Panda Executive in charge of production Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 2009 Monsters vs. Aliens 2010 Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds Animation director EuropaCorp How to Train Your Dragon Executive in charge of production DreamWorks Animation Shrek Forever After Megamind 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 Puss in Boots 2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Rise of the Guardians 2013 The Croods Turbo 2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman How to Train Your Dragon 2 Penguins of Madagascar 2015 Home 2016 Kung Fu Panda 3 Trolls Partially 2017 The Boss Baby Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Television Year Title Occupation Notes 2004 Father of the Pride Creator/Executive producer 2 episodes 2005–2009 The Contender Executive producer 26 episodes 2005 The Contender Rematch: Mora vs. Manfredo TV Special 2008 The Contender Asia 12 episodes 2010 Neighbors from Hell 5 episodes 2020 Dummy wiip, Heller Highwater Pictures, Let's Go Again Thanks a Million Producer Short TV series Beauty Short series Benedict Men TV series (pre-production) The Now Executive producer TV Mini-Series (post-production) Natural Born Narco 1 episode: Pilot (post-production) Elba vs. Block Short TV Series (post-production)

I made a subpage with a diff that shows the changes.

That covers all of it! Thanks so much for taking the time to look. I appreciate the consideration and any thoughts you may have. BINK Robin (talk) 15:52, 21 May 2024 (UTC)